What should to build a lab for CCNA that can also be used for CCIE lab test?

ghost2q

sorry the title is suppose to say What should I get....

Hi, I have not taken the CCNA yet and I have no experience but I am determined to go all the way through CCIE (routing and switching). Since I have no experience I want to build a home lab that can help me with my CCNA exam but also can be used for my CCIE lab test. I don't want to buy something for my CCNA and when I want to study for my CCIE I would have to get a whole new lab set. Can anyone tell me the exact models of routers and switches I should get? and anything else I may need?

mattau

forget a lab of routers. dynamips is your friend. trust me. the journey to anything even beyond ccna is a long one and you can often change your mind on what your goals are. stick with dynamips and get a few switches. if money permits some layer 3 switches will serve you for a long time.

Bl8ckr0uter

If you are at >= CCNA level you should probably forget about doing the CCIE at this time. Head over to the CCNA forums and check out some of the lab threads over there.

If you are serious about doing CCNA and going directly to CCIE you need to think about your time frame. The written and the lab change from time to time and if you don't think you are going to try to go for it relatively shortly, I wouldn't worry about it. If you are serious about doing it read on.

I have similar goals (although I do work in a network engineering role and have my CCNA and CCNA:S). My CCIE:S (and CCNP:S) goals are going to go like this:

-Build lab to spec of the INE topology: s3.www.ine.com/downloads/ine.sc.physical.topology.v5.002.pdf
Note: I plan on using physical hardware for the most part since I am already relatively close. Also I will probably use ASA 5505s since 5510s cost a ton and I can practice at work on our lab gear if need be.

-Acquire all (or most) of the books for the CCIE:S Written exam and CCNP:S. Read , lab and understand them.
This is the one for the CCIE Written This is the one for CCNP:S from Amazon

-In a few months (either at the end of this year or when I am doing with the CCNP:S which should be able feb-march hopefully) pick up a lab pack (INE) and possibly some.

-Read, lab, rinse and repeat….Profit.

This is pretty much my plan. I don’t know if I am right or wrong but I will be able to tell you next year (when I am a CCIE or not).

Also don't get too much tunnel vision. No matter what CCIE you want to go for, make sure you study a little bit about everything (and not just cisco networking). Really sit down and take the time to understand networking.

Forsaken_GA

mattau wrote: »

forget a lab of routers. dynamips is your friend. trust me. the journey to anything even beyond ccna is a long one and you can often change your mind on what your goals are. stick with dynamips and get a few switches. if money permits some layer 3 switches will serve you for a long time.

Which is nice, but that's not the question he asked. He asked specifically what gear to build a lab with.

To the OP - for the CCNA, I would buy 3 2611XM's and 2 3550 switches. They're all relatively cheap, they will let you cover all CCNA goals, and all three platforms are applicable in current model CCIE labs. If you desire to go for CCNP on your way to CCIE as well, then the same gear will serve you.

NOC-Ninja

ghost2q wrote: »

sorry the title is suppose to say What should I get....

Hi, I have not taken the CCNA yet and I have no experience but I am determined to go all the way through CCIE (routing and switching). Since I have no experience I want to build a home lab that can help me with my CCNA exam but also can be used for my CCIE lab test. I don't want to buy something for my CCNA and when I want to study for my CCIE I would have to get a whole new lab set. Can anyone tell me the exact models of routers and switches I should get? and anything else I may need?

How To Build A CCIE Rack | INE

Different vendors + different devices

Its all depends on how much do you want to spend.